At 5 a.m. Thursday, the storm was in the Caribbean about 25 miles southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, and 100 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Emily was moving west-northwest at 7 mph with sustained top winds of 50 mph.

Emily is expected to produce rainfall of 6 to 12 inches in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with isolated amounts up to 20 inches possible in some areas.

Emily was expected to make a gradual turn to the northwest during the next day or so. The storm's center was expected to move across the southwestern peninsula of Haiti on Thursday and move over extreme eastern Cuba Thursday night.

As is stands, the Saturday forecast in both South Florida and Orlando calls for mostly sunny skies and a 30 percent chance of rain. Further, only a slice of the state's eastern side is now in the cone of uncertainty.

However, if the system draws much closer, squally conditions could spread over the state's eastern seaboard, forecasters said.

For now, Emily's projected path makes its closest approach to the state near West Palm Beach, coming within about 125 miles. At that time, it is expected to have sustained winds of between 50 and 60 mph.

If Emily were to take a turn toward Florida, the state would be on Emily's left -- or weak -- side. The system's tropical force winds extend 115 miles to the north and the east of its core.

The storm has been hampered by wind shear and dry air over the past day, preventing it from intensifying and becoming well organized.

It now faces the possibility of being weakened further when it passes over Hispaniola and eastern Cuba.